whitnebrat Loc: In the wilds of Oregon

This quote from The Federalist Papers #1, by James Madison, first published in The Independent Journal on October 27, 1787, seems qppropriate to the present situation of democracy vs. autocracy in which we find ourselves.

"The subject speaks its own importance; comprehending in its consequences nothing less than the existence of the UNION, the safety and welfare of the parts of which it is composed, the fate of an empire in many respects the most interesting in the world. It has been frequently remarked that it seems to have been reserved to the people of this country, by their conduct and example, to decide the important question, whether societies of men are really capable or not of establishing good government from reflection and choice, or whether they are forever destined to depend for their political constitutions on accident and force. If there be any t***h in the remark, the crisis at which we are arrived may with propriety be regarded as the era in which that decision is to be made; …"

Now, 236 years later we have the same decision to make. I hope we make the right one...